Wheel puller



June 18;, 1935. A. L. CORNWELL WHEEL FULLER Filed Jan. .31. 1954 v F WuWlmm 66 F F .0 Z3, I o z 6 u 1 mm 2 J n 1 mw Ma v 4 M l W w u MIHIIIIIIIIIII l l Patented June 18, 1935 STATES TENT OFFICE ApplicationJanuary 31,

15 Claims.

This invention relates to pulling devices, and more especially to thoseadapted to pull vehicle wheels from their axles. The invention embodiesseveral novel and important features which combine to provide a superiorpuller of stronger construction, faster, more convenient and more.efficient in operation, and yet relatively simple and of few parts.

The invention relates more especially to pullers for automobile Wheelshaving each hub thereof provided with a plurality of outwardly-extendingwheel holding stud bolts located in a circle around the longitudinalaxis of the hub. In wheels of different manufacture, these'bolts vary innumber and the circular arrangements thereof are located atdifferentradial distances from the said axis, and such variations have heretoforerequired the use of different pullers to accommodate the differentwheels. "This requirement has not only necessitated that automobilerepair shops shall purchase and keep at hand a plurality of pullers, buthas furthermore caused considerable confusion and loss of time in thedetermining and locating of the proper puller to be used for each job.One object of my invention is to provide an improved puller for thistype of wheel which will not only accommodate all of said wheels ofdifferent manufacture, but which is furthermore of simple constructionand more economical and efficient in use than like pullers heretoforeknown.

More specifically, my improved puller embodies a main body portionhaving attached thereto a plurality of arms adapted to engage over andbe anchored to the said stud bolts. The arms are mounted for pivotalmovement on the puller, whereby to accommodate bolts located atdifferent radial distances from the axle, and certain of the arms areadjustable circumferentially in the puller whereby to accommodate boltsofdifferent spacing oircumferentially. The puller is so constructed,however,. that. the adjustable arms are normally held fromcircumferential movement andby mechanism which causes all the arms tomove simultaneously and in equal degree upon pivotal movement. of one ofthe arms, thus keeping the wheel engaging outer ends thereof equaldistances from the central longitudinal axis of the puller. fFurthermore, one of the arms is permanently fixed againstcircumferential adjustment and indices are provided for indicating thecircumferential position of the adjustable arms for proper engagementwith the stud bolts. The said mechanism is so arranged and so cooperateswith the arms puller.

1934, Serial No. 709,160

as to permit convenient adjustment thereof and thereafter securely holdthe arms in adjusted. position, all as hereinafter more specificallydescribed. The production of an improved wheel puller embodying suchnovel features is a further object of my invention.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improvedpuller in normal position, the body portion being shown in longitudinalsection;

Fig. 2 is a like view showing the puller applied to a wheel hub;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section showing a modifiedform of my puller.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section showing a furthermodified form of my on line 3-3 The puller illustrated in the drawing isparticularly adapted to the pulling of wheel hubs i and like membershaving a plurality of outwardly-extending stud bolts located in a circlearound the central longitudinal axis thereof, such as the stud bolts ii]in the hub l2 located around the driving axle M on which the hub ismounted. As illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the wheel has beenremoved from the hub and the puller applied to the bolts ID 'in lieu ofthe wheel.

The puller, shown in its normal position in Fig. 1, comprises a bodyportion including a body member l6 and a second member l3 cooperatingtherewith, a pluralityof arms 20 carried bythe body portion and a powerscrew 22 threaded axially into and through the member I 6. The member itis ofshell-like construction having an open front end with a peripheraloverhanging annular ledge 24 and a sleeve 26 projecting forwardly fromthe member about its longitudinal axis. The said member I8 is mounted toslide on the sleeve and is normally forced forwardly by a spring 28tending to expand against the sleeve and an angular surface 30 of themember l6.

The puller is shown as provided with three like arms it, each arm havingits rear end mounted in the circumferential channel formed between themember l8 and the ledge 24 and anchored to the body portion of thepuller and its front end flanged outwardly at 32 and provided withperforations 34 or the like to engage over the bolts ill. The rear endof each arm is provided with an outwardly-extending hook at 36 and withan inwardly-extending lug or fulcrun 38, and these ends are anchoredwithin the member 66, the hooks 35 engaging the overhanging ledge 25 andthe lugs 38 engaging within an annular groove 39 in the member 58.Forward movement of the member is under the action of the spring 28pivots the arms outwardly in equal degree and to the extreme position ofFig. 1, in which position shoulders 32 on the arms engage against aflange ts on the member 13, thus limiting such movement of the memberand arms.

The hooked ends of the arms are slotted at 16 and one of the arms isheld against circumferential movement or adjustment by a pin 48extending through the wall of member l6 and into this slot. The othertwo arms are normally held against such circumferential movement by thefrictional engagement of the members I6 and i8 thereagainst caused bythe spring 28. Wheels of different manufacture have different numbers ofstud bolts in, these numbers ordinarily being t, 5, 6 or '5, and, bymaking two of the three arms circumferentially adjustable, I provide forthe accommodating of my puller to any and all of such wheels. It willbenoted that the front face of the member Iii, adjacent to each of theadjustable arms,.is provided with four index marks l, 5, 6 and l, andthe adjacent face of each arm is given a cooperating index mark 50.These numbers correspond to the number of stud bolts on the wheels to bepulled. Thus, if the wheel to be pulled has seven stud bolts, the twoadjustable arms are adjusted circumferentially to positions bringingtheir index marks 59 into alignment with the adjacent 1 index, etc.

The puller is normally held in the position of 1, wherein the arms arefully extended outwardly and wherein the two circumferentiallyadjustable arms are held against circumferential movement by thefrictional engagement thereagainst. To adjust these armscircumferentially, the operator presses one of such arms and the fixedarm inwardly, which action forces the member 58 rearwardly and thusreleases the frictional engagement on the third arm. This arm can thenbe freely adjusted to bring its index 59 into alignment with any one ofthe four cooperating indices. When thus adjusted, this arm is broughtand held inwardly and the other adjustable arm released and adjusted inlike manner and, when the arms are thereafter released, they aresecurely held in their adjusted positions by the said frictional contactthereagainst.

Any suitable power means maybe provided on the puller for engaging theend of the axle and forcing the wheel hub therefrom. For convenience,and preferably, I utilize a screw 22 for this purpose. This screw isthreaded into and through the body member H3 along its longitudinal axisand preferably has provided on its outer end a hammerhead handle 5'3, ofthe nature described and claimed in my Reissue Patent No. 18,556 and myPatent No. 1,895,448.

The operation of my improved puller on the automobile wheel hub shown inFig. 2 is briefly as follows. First, see that the two adjustable arms 29are adjusted to positions corresponding to the number of stud bolts onthe wheel to be pulled. The three arms are then surrounded with bothhands and compressed to a position wherein the flanged portions 32 areslid over the bolts l9, it being understood that the mounting of thearms in the puller is such that the arms move radially in equal degree,thus at all times keeping their flanged ends 34 in a circulararrangement coaxial with the axis of the screw 22, whereby to fit studbolts arranged in circles of different diameters. The nuts H! are thenapplied to the bolts and the power screw rotated forwardly against theend of the axle M with sufficient force to draw the puller and hubrearwardly therefrom. The pulling operation is facilitated by thevibration and screw rotating movements effected by striking thehammerhead end portions 56 of the handle 54, as will be understood.

The form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 4 is similar to that shownin Figs. 13 and already described. The body member 15, arms 20, powerscrew 22 and spring 23 are the same and are indicated by the samereference characters. The member 69, slidably mounted on the sleeve 26,has an annular shoulder 52 opposed to a washer 36 extending freely aboutthe member and between the spring 23 and arms 20. The expanding actionof the spring normally forces the washer into contact with the adjacentcurved portions of the arms and outward pivotal movement of the arms islimited by the engagement of shoulders E6 thereon with the outer edge ofThe puller is assembled as follows. The spring 28, washer 64 and member60 are firstplaced inside the member HS. The member is then forced toits maximum rearward position, this being done by placing a bushingagainst the outer end of the member and then placing the member I6 andbushing between the jaws of a vise. All three arms 20 are then hookedinto the puller and their lugs 38 placed within the groove 68. When thevise is released, the spring 28 forces the member 60 forwardly to aposition wherein the arms are securely held between the members It and69.. The relatively heavy spring It is then snapped into placein thegroove 68 for the purpose of taking up all looseness between the arms 20and member 60.

The use and operation of this form of my puller is the same as thatshown in Figs. 1-3 except that the arms 20 are not normally thrown totheir outermost position. The spring 28 forces the washer 64 intocontact with the adjacent rounded portions of the arms, causingsufiicient equal degree, whereby to keep the wheel engaging outer I endsthereof equal distances from the central longitudinal axis of thepuller. When adjusting the arms circumferentially, as described inreference to Figs. 1-3, inward pressure on two of the armsforces themember 60 rearwardly and its shoulder 62 engages and access;

forces the washer 6i rearwardly, thus releasing the pressure of thewasher on the third arm, which may thereupon be freely adjustedcircumferentially.

It will be understood that my improved puller may be considerablymodified within the scope of the appended claims. For instance, the bodymember is not necessarily constructed in one piece, as illustrated inFigs. 1-4, but may be formed of independent pieces, as shown in Fig. 5.In this form of the invention, the body member comprises an outer piece8t having an inner sleeve portion 82 which maybe threaded thereinto atat. The piece 8% forms a housing for the inner ends of the arms 3! andthe portion 82 has an overhanging ledge 83 at its forward end forcooperating with the arms. The inner ends of the arms are engaged with asecond member 88 slidably mounted on the sleeve portion 32. A spring 99and washer 5 2 are provided rearwardly of the arms and function in themanner already described in reference to Fig. 4. It is believed that theconstruction and operation of this form of my invention will be clearwithout further description herein.

their outer ends projecting beyond the body portion and constructed toengage the member to be pulled, power means carried by the body portionfor engaging the end of an axle on which the wheel is mounted andforcing the wheel from the axle, means carried by the body portion forcausing all the arms to move simultaneously and in equal degree uponpivotal movement of one of the arms whereby to keep the wheel-engagingouter ends thereof equal distances from the central longitudinal axis ofthe puller, and means including the lastnamed means normally andirictionally binding the arms against circumferential movement in saidchannel, certain of the arms being adjustable circumferentially alongthe channel when said binding engagement thereon is released by forcingother of the arms inwardly.

2. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a body member, a secondmember cooperating therewith, a plurality of arms supported for radialpivotal movement and circumferentially adjustable movement by andbetween the members and having their outer ends constructed to engagethe wheel to be pulled, resilient means acting on one of the members ina direction normally pivoting the arms in equal degree in one direction,and power means carried by the body member for engaging the end of anaxle on which the wheel is mounted whereby to force the wheel from theaxle.

3. A puller for a wheel having a hub provided with a plurality ofoutwardly-extending stud bolts located around the longitudinal axisthereof, comprising a shell-like body member open at its front end andhaving a sleeve projecting forwardly from the member about itslongitudinal axis, a second member mounted to slide on the sleeve, aplurality of arms supported for radial pivotal movement andcircumferentially adjustable movement by and between the members andhaving their outer ends constructed to engage over said bolts, means forsliding the second member on the sleeve in position to engage the armsbetween the members, and power means carried by the body member forextending through the sleeve and engaging the end of an axle on whichthe wheel is mounted whereby to force the wheel from the axle.

4. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a shell-like body memberhaving an open and overhanging front end and having a sleeve projectingforwardly from the member about its longitudinal axis, a second membermounted to slide on the sleeve, a plurality of arms supported for radialpivotal movement by and between the members and having their outer endsconstructed to engage the member to be pulled, means for moving theparts to position wherein the engaged with the said overhanging portionof the body member, and power means carried by the body member forextending through the sleeve and engaging the end of an axle on whichthe wheel is mounted whereby to force the wheel from the axle.

5. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a body portion, aplurality of arms having their outer ends projecting beyond the bodyportion and constructed to engage the member to be pulled, meansproviding a circumferential channel mounting the arms for radial pivotalmovement within the body portion and permitting circumferentialadjustment of certain of the :1

arms along said channel, means one of the arms against such adjustmentwhile permitting said pivotal movement thereof, and power means carriedby the body portion for engaging the end oi an axle on which the wheelis mounted whereby to force the wheel from the axle.

6. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a body member, aplurality of arms having their inner ends anchored thereto for radialpivotal movement and circumferentially adjustable movement and havingtheir outer ends projecting beyond the member and constructed to engagethe member to be pulled, means acting resiliently on the arms to pivotthem in equal degree in one direction, and power means can riedby thebody member for engaging the end of an axle on which the wheel ismounted whereby to force the wheel from the axle.

'7. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a body member, aplurality of radially pivotal arms extending thereinto and having theirouter ends projecting beyond the member and com structed to engage themember to be pulled,

hooks on the inner ends of the arms anchoring the arms to the bodymember whereby to sustain the wheel pulling force, means within the bodymember for causing the arms to pivot simultaneously and in equal degree,and power means carried by the body member for engaging the end of anaxle on which the wheel is mounted whereby to force the wheel from theaxle.

8. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a shell-like body memberhaving an open and overhanging front end integral with a portionthereof, a plurality of arms extending into said open front end of themember and having hooklike ends engaging said overhanging portionthereof in a manner permitting radial pivotal movement of the arms, thearms projecting outwardly beyond. the member and having the outer endsthereof constructed to: engage the member to be pulled, and power meanscarried by the body member for engaging the end of an axle on which thewheel is mounted whereby to force the wheel from the axle.

9. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a body member, a secondmember cooperating therewith, a plurality of arms supported for radialpivotal movement by and between the members and having their outer endsconstructed to engage the member to be pulled, means including resilientmeans acting independently of said second member to force the armstoward and hold them in cooperating relation with a portion of the bodymember, and power means carried by the body member for engaging the endof an axle on which the wheel is mounted whereby to force the wheel fromthe axle.

10. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a body member, aplurality of arms having their inner ends anchored thereto for radialpivotal movement and having their outer ends projecting beyond themember and constructed to engage the member to be pulled, means carriedby the body member and acting to cause the arms to move simultaneouslyand in equal degree upon pivotal movement of one of the arms whereby tokeep the wheel engaging outer ends thereof equal distances from thecentral longitudinal axis of the puller, power means carried by the bodymember for engaging the end of an axle on which the wheel is mountedwhereby to force the wheel from the axle, and resilient means carried bythe body member and acting to cause frictional engagement on movableparts of the puller to prevent free pivotal movement of the arms.

11. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a shell-like bodymember open at its front end and having a sleeve portion projectingforwardly from the member about its central longitudinal axis, a secondmember mounted to slide on the sleeve portion and having an annulargroove formed within its outer surface, a plurality of arms mounted forradial pivotal movement between the members and having their outer endsconstructed to engage the member to be pulled, each arm having a portionof its inner end engaged within said groove of the second member andhaving an oppositely-disposed portion engaging and anchored to the bodymember, and power means carried by the body member for engaging the endof an axle on which the wheel is mounted whereby to force the Wheel fromthe axle.

12. The puller defined in claim 11, in which the said annular groove iswider than the portions of the arms extending thereinto, and meanswithin the groove for locking the said portions in predeterminedposition therein.

13. A puller for a wheel or the like, comprising a shell-like bodymember open at its front end and having a sleeve portion formed of anindependent piece and rigidly connected thereto at its rear end andprojecting forwardly within the member about its central longitudinalaxis, a second member mounted to slide on the sleeve portion within theshell-like member, a plurality of arms mounted for radial pivotalmovement between the members and having their outer ends constructed toengage the member to be pulled, each arm having'a portion of its innerend engaging the second member and another portion thereof engaging andanchored to the body member whereby to permit pivotal movement of thearms and hold the arms connected to the body member, and power meanscarried by the body member for engaging the end of an axle on which thewheel is mounted whereby to force the wheel from the axle.

14. A puller of the class described, comprising a body having an outerportion and a hub portion, the hub portion being disposed axially of thebody and located within the outer portion, a plurality of work-engagingarms projecting outwardly beyond the body and having their inner endsextending thereinto between the said portions thereof and hooked intoengagement with one of said portions, and a member slidable on the hubportion and engaged with the arms to pivot them simultaneously uponsliding movement of the member on the hub portion.

15. The puller defined in claim 14, wherein said arms are adjustablecircumferentially of the body without disturbing said hooked engagementthereof, and spring means normally acting to hold the arms in frictionalcontact with the body and against circumferential movement.

ARTHUR L. CORNWELL.

